Local athletes have a ball

Nicholas Giardino, 9, far left, Jordan Chalmers, 10, Tyler Luciano, 12, Brendan Wilkowski, 11, Kerry Clark, 11, and Lindsay Solenski, 9, were among the winners of the Pope Pius XII Knights of Columbus annual free throw contest last Saturday at St. Raphael’s Parish. Behind them, event organizers John Devany, partially obscured at left, Paul Wissert and Alan Bacci cheered them on.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

Jacob Unlacke, 9, did his best LeBron James impersonation.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

Hannah Arbuse, 13, lined up her shot in the gymnasium of St. Raphael’s parish.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

55 children between ages 9 and 14 competed in the contest, the most in the 15-plus year history of the event.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

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The Pope Pius XII Knights of Columbus of East Meadow hosted its annual free throw contest inside the gymnasium at St. Raphael’s Parish on Jan. 11.

The contest was open to boys and girls between the ages of 9 to 14, and yielded the highest turnout ever with 55 children. “It’s great for the community, the church and everybody,” said Paul Wissert, of the Knights of Columbus, who, with Alan Bacci, has organized the event since 1997.

This year’s winners among the boys were Nicholas Giardino, 9, Jordan Chalmers, 10, Brendan Wilkowki, 11, Tyler Luciano, 12, Michael Halkitis, 13, and Domenic Schwarz, 14.

From the girls, the winning sharpshooters were Lindsay Solenski, 9, Kerry Clark, 11 Nicole Morreale, 12, and Sara Polansky, 13.

The winners will take their talents to Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale on Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. to compete in the district competition, against representatives from Merrick, Hempstead, Uniondale and Roosevelt.